MTSA and S.A.F.E. Port Act of 2006 Business Article Critique

MTSA and S.A.F.E. PORT ACT of 2006
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Introduction
It is essential to note that ports and waterways are critical for every country; therefore, it is essential for the government to ensure that proper and effective policies and guidelines are implemented to ensure that negative and undesirable occurrences that may have extensive damages to marine transportation are prevented. For instance, since the events of September 11, the government of the United States has been committed to ensuring that adequate mechanisms are implemented to develop the security of the marine facilities and vessels. There are also other emerging issues around the globe which pose a threat to the safety of the global waterways, for example piracy in the Indian Ocean. Additionally, legislations have been developed to reinforce the national benefit of security of the country’s waterways, and they also offer a beneficial scheme for promoting the safety of marine commerce. This literature compares and contrasts the MTSA and S.A.F.E. Port Act.
The Maritime Transport Security Act (MTSA) of 2002
The Maritime Transportation Security Act (MTSA) of 2002 was made law by Congress with the objective of increasing the safety of the country’s ports. This act was developed after amending and modifying the Merchant Marine Act of 1920, which regulated the maintenance and promotion of all-American merchant marine. Additionally, the Merchant Marine Act controlled and managed maritime commerce in the United States. It is essential to note that MTSA offers guidelines for the maritime industry and all vessels, as well as the ports facilities, are necessitated to observe therefore, MTSA is examined as a security program which is focused at identifying and deterring threats in the ports as waterways.
With this act, there were various responsibilities of the coast guard which were revised to grant certain powers as well as additional responsibilities. Coast guards were allowed by law to seize any vessel that was going against the nation’s maritime law, for as long as it was within the nation’s waters. They were allowed not only to seize such a vessel, but also perform the due procedures of search and even interrogation of the occupant of such a vessel. In case things got out of hand, these coast guards were also mandated with engaging such a vessel from both the land and sea, as long as they neutralized it.
On the other side, the Security and Accountability For Every (SAFE) Port Act of 2006 was signed into the law with the objectives and goals of strengthening the capability and potential of the government to safeguard the country’s ports and well as the maritime commerce from possible threats. Similarly, this act modified existing legislation and provided more effective programs that would promote maritime security responsibilities.
MTSA asserts that the vessels and facilities in the United States should be assessed to identify those that are likely to be involved in transportation security incidents. The vulnerability test is aimed at identifying the physical, structural, protection and contingency responses of all the facilities and other infrastructures; this assessment should be updated at least after every five years (Homeland Security Digital Library, 2020). This is in line with an expected or anticipated terrorist attack, which can obviously target the most vulnerable points of the systems.
By troubleshooting the various points of weaknesses, the Act basically helps the personnel and their respective vessels to be forearmed at any time and be in a position to repel any such attacks too. Most importantly, MTSA determines how the secretary should develop a plan to prevent and respond to incidents. Ideally, the plan should be efficient and coordinated and should also outline the duties and responsibilities of the agencies involved in security incidents, the resources required, the procedures aimed at deterring such incidents in the future and appropriate surveillance to ensure earlier notice about the incident and possible impending threats.
The good thing about the MTSA Act is that it doesn’t only cover passenger vessels. Its influence goes as far out as any sector within the maritime industry that seems to have one weakness or the other. The Act basically assesses the risks and the risk factors therein, for every part of the maritime industry. As a result, installations such as gas and oil platforms are also considered, in addition to cargo, towing and tank vessels. A terrorist attack usually aims at destabilizing a portion of a given economy or industry. Therefore, an attack even on the cargo vessels can still cause a great degree of instability to the larger maritime industry.
SAFE Port Act
This act on the other side, asserts that the secretary should establish interagency operational centers in high-priority ports to determine and facilitate port security. This act requires the operational centers to be organized so that they can fill all the security needs and requirements for every individual port (Library of Congress, 2006). Besides, SAFE Port Act necessitates that the secretary should determine the participation of other agencies and departments such as the Department of Justice, Transport Security Administrati...